


come and get your love

by mullethyuck



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Blind Date, Confessions, Getting Together, Holding Hands, M/M, Making Out, McDonald's, Messy, Monsters Inc. (Movies) References, My Little Pony References, Netflix and Chill, Questionable Fashion Choices, Sabotage, Tattoos, also heads up there are brief mentions of vomit and needles so trigger warning for that, but like not really, hyuck's unstoppable force vs xuxi's immovable object
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:28:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27640729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mullethyuck/pseuds/mullethyuck
Summary: “So remind me,” Mark says from his spot on the bed as he dodges a shoe Donghyuck is throwing over his shoulder, “why exactly you agreed to this if you hate the idea so much?”
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 8
Kudos: 138





	come and get your love

**Author's Note:**

> mads has once again inspired me with [art](https://twitter.com/johlyfams/status/1329143337996193794?s=20) so beautiful it belongs in the moma so shoutout to her for being my muse, and all my love to [mash](https://twitter.com/yeekiies) for enabling me as usual lmao couldn't have done it without y'all <3
> 
> in other news yes i stole the [title](https://open.spotify.com/track/7GVUmCP00eSsqc4tzj1sDD) because i listened to my happy playlist while i wrote this and that song fit surprisingly well

“So remind me,” Mark says from his spot on the bed as he dodges a shoe Donghyuck is throwing over his shoulder, “why exactly you agreed to this if you hate the idea so much?”

Donghyuck straightens up, shuffling through his shirts as Mark waits patiently for a reply. “Because Yangyang and Renjun wouldn’t shut up about it.” He finds the shirt he’d been looking for, yanking it off the hanger and slipping it over his shoulders.

“So now that you’re committed, you think the proper course of action is self-sabotage?” Mark clarifies, and Donghyuck hums in confirmation as he looks for his other shoe. “Right. I don’t think I follow your logic here, Hyuck.”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes even if Mark can’t see him past the open closet door. “The guy they set me up with hangs out with them and Xiaojun all the time,” he explains as he snatches his shoe from a dark corner of his closet floor. “Do you even know how catastrophic it is to date someone with mutual friends?”

Donghyuck can’t see Mark blinking dumbly at him, but he can picture it clear as day. “Uh, no.”

He hops around for a moment, pulling on his shoes, before he diverts his attention to his jacket selection. “It’s monumental, dude. Your parents are divorced, you know nobody likes a custody battle.”

Mark doesn’t miss a beat, even in the face of Donghyuck’s dramatics. “So, lemme get this straight.” There’s a rustle as Mark clearly makes himself comfortable for what he probably assumes is about to be an intervention of some sort. “You don’t even wanna go on _one_ date with this guy, in case he likes you and then you date and then he changes his mind and breaks up with you and all your friends choose him over you?”

Donghyuck scoffs half-convincingly. “Markie, I think we both know I’m irresistible. This guy will definitely love me, and get way too attached, then I’ll have to break his heart and all of our friends will take my side and he’ll be left all alone in the world. I can’t subject him to that torture.”

Mark groans, and Donghyuck hears him flop back onto the mattress. “You’re insufferable.”

“That’s the goal!” Donghyuck chirps, finally choosing a jacket and pulling it on.

“For the record, I know Renjun would have your back. Yangyang’s kind of a wild card, though,” Mark offers ever so helpfully. When Donghyuck doesn’t respond, he keeps talking to the ceiling. “How do you plan to turn this guy off anyway? Like, you’re not actually gonna hurt him, are you?”

Donghyuck spins in front of the mirror attached to his closet door for one last once-over before he commits to this outfit. “God, no. Who do you think I am?” He runs a hand through his hair, rearranging his bangs so they’re out of his eyes. He really needs a trim. “I’m just gonna be undateably weird. Y’know, like, he’s never gonna want to see me again, but he won’t bodily prevent Renjun and Yangyang from hanging out with me, either.”

“Uh huh,” Mark drawls, unimpressed. “So what’s your brilliant plan for walking the fine line between undateable and certifiable?”

Donghyuck swings the closet door shut, revealing his final look. “First impressions matter, Markie Mark.” He poses, waiting for Mark to take in his genius ensemble.

Mark looks him up and down at least twelve times before he reacts. “Where the fuck did you even get that shirt?” is the first thing out of his mouth, and Donghyuck can’t blame him. It’s the highlight of the outfit, after all.

“What, this old thing?” He pulls the front of the tank top out from behind his jacket so Mark can get a good look at the godawful emoji plastered across it with the words _Wanna pet my mullet?_ on top. “Chenle gave it to me for my birthday last summer. Haven’t worn it before, but I think it’s gonna be a hit.” He winks, and Mark rubs circles into his temples like he can feel a headache coming on.

“I’m pretty sure Lele meant for that to be a joke,” Mark offers, as if Donghyuck couldn’t figure that out himself―as if he’d ever wear it for any other occasion besides a date he’s intentionally sabotaging. “And _why_ do you own pants that ugly?”

Donghyuck pouts, crossing his arms. “Now that’s just rude,” he says, looking down at his oldest pair of cargo pants. They’re bleach-stained from a particularly elaborate mishap at the laundromat back in freshman year, and the biggest splotch is right over the crotch. “I used to love these pants, before Jaemin vandalized them with his incompetence.” Mark pinches the bridge of his nose. “And before you say anything, these shoes are _sentimental.”_

Mark stops squinting in pain long enough to level him with a look. “Hyuck, just because the hot quarterback drew a dick on your shoe in high school doesn’t mean you should keep them around. If anything, it’s a reason to burn them.”

“But he signed it, Mark!” Donghyuck holds his left shoe up so Mark can see the smudged _Johnny Suh_ scrawled across the Nike check. “When he goes pro this shoe will be worth a lot of money. I’ll be rich!”

Mark knows Donghyuck is joking, but he still looks like he’s about to pop a vein. He’s always been compulsively stressed, ever since they were kids. Being best friends with Donghyuck probably hasn’t helped anything. “Whatever. At least your disgusting wardrobe is finally justifiable.”

Donghyuck looks down at himself, from his moth-eaten jacket to the grungiest pair of sneakers to ever grace the earth. “I don’t know what you mean,” he says primly, and Mark rolls his eyes so hard Donghyuck thinks they might get stuck in the back of his skull.

“Can we just go?” Mark pleads, digging his keys out of his pocket for emphasis. Donghyuck nods, gathering his wallet and other essentials as he follows Mark to the door. “Why am I driving you, again?” he asks as Donghyuck shoves his car keys into one of his many pants pockets.

Donghyuck gives him a conspiratorial smile. “It’s lame as fuck to have a friend drop you off on a date. Almost as lame as your mom, but even I have limits.”

“Thank God,” Mark mutters as they make their way out of the apartment and toward the stairs. “Just tell me you didn’t pick the place, for this guy’s sake.”

Donghyuck’s smile only gets bigger; Mark does not look reassured. “Don’t worry, Markles. I’ll give you directions.”

* * *

Mark looks thoroughly disappointed when he pulls up to the curb to let Donghyuck out. “Seriously, Hyuck? This is low, even for you.”

Donghyuck just pushes the door open, climbing out of the car and shooting him a pair of finger guns. “Could be worse.”

Donghyuck is pretty sure Mark’s about to go on some rant about how it could _not_ be worse, actually, and McDonald’s is only an acceptable date spot for broke fifteen-year-olds without a driver’s license, but Donghyuck doesn’t give him the chance. Mark is probably just getting war flashbacks to the week they dated in eighth grade, and it’s not fair of him to project that disaster onto Donghyuck’s budding new relationship. Not that he’s wrong, exactly, but that’s kind of the point.

Donghyuck shuts the door before Mark can say anything else critical, spinning on his heel and traipsing off in the direction of the entrance as Mark stares after him like he’s debating the morality of allowing Donghyuck to go through with this. In the end, it doesn’t matter what conclusion he reaches, because Donghyuck’s already halfway across the parking lot, waving at a guy leaning against the wall who matches the description Renjun gave him.

Donghyuck can hear Mark pulling away when he steps up to his date, taking a deep breath in a last ditch effort to steel himself for the upcoming tragedy of making a complete ass of himself on purpose. “Hey. Yukhei?” he says, plastering on his most winning smile. He has to look like he’s trying to be personable, at least.

“Hey, Donghyuck!” Yukhei says brightly, pushing off the wall to hold his arms out for a hug. Donghyuck pulls him in for a bro handshake instead, which ends up being a useless maneuver because (1) he can’t even reach Yukhei’s shoulder for the customary pat, and (2) his face ends up smashed in Yukhei’s pecs, which is dangerous because Yukhei is hot and Donghyuck has just learned that he smells heavenly, too. Also, Yukhei seems utterly unbothered by Donghyuck’s first attempt at friend-zoning. Donghyuck takes the L for this one.

“Nice to meet you,” he says when they part, because he can’t bring himself to be completely rude.

“You too!” Yukhei chirps back, and it’s so endearing that Donghyuck is seriously considering just throwing his whole plan out the window and straight up fleeing the scene. But then Yukhei is looking down at him and asking, “Can I?” and Donghyuck is lost.

“Can you what?” he says, squinting.

Yukhei points to Donghyuck’s chest. “I do wanna pet your mullet. Can I?”

Donghyuck just looks at Yukhei like he’s the insane one. “Uh,” he says intelligently. He hadn’t really been prepared for this conversation. “Sure.”

Yukhei’s eyes light up. “Sweet.” He sticks an arm out, ruffling his hand over the crown of Donghyuck’s head before smoothing it down again, presumably so Donghyuck doesn’t look like he just rolled out of bed. Not that it would make much of a difference, with the outfit, and all. Then Yukhei gently cards his fingers through the longer hair in the back, and it feels weirdly intimate for a first meeting in a McDonald’s parking lot. Donghyuck clears his throat, and Yukhei stops, but he doesn’t say anything, either.

“Wanna go inside?” Donghyuck offers, because obviously his first impression wasn’t off-putting enough. It’s time for phase two.

“Sure!” Yukhei says, enthusiastic as ever. He opens the door and holds a hand out, gesturing for Donghyuck to go first.

Donghyuck gets two steps in the door before he’s turning around and grabbing Yukhei by the arm, tugging him along toward the PlayPlace. Yukhei goes willingly even though he could easily overpower Donghyuck, and as Donghyuck pushes through the door, they’re hit with the very distinct smell of week-old chicken nuggets and dirty rubber. Donghyuck all but shoves Yukhei into a booth near the shoe cubbies and tells him to stay put. “I’ll go order for us. My treat!” He doesn’t even wait for Yukhei to finish thanking him before he’s heading up to the register like a man on mission.

He orders their meals, hovering by the counter with their drinks while he waits. He does feel a little bad leaving Yukhei to fend for himself when a group of toddlers overtake the PlayPlace, but Donghyuck is nothing if not committed. Plus, this is as much a punishment for him as it is a presumed turn-off for Yukhei. He doesn’t want to go back there any more than he assumes Yukhei wants to be sitting there guarding their table from grubby kids, so he drags out the whole process of obtaining food as long as humanly possible. Unfortunately, it only takes a couple more minutes before their order is ready.

He makes his way back to the table, balancing their meals on two trays, and stops, pausing to set them down before straightening up to address his date. “I had 1,000 points, so we landed a kid’s party pack! I just got whatever, take your pick. The only toys they had were My Little Pony though, so I hope your masculinity isn’t too fragile.” Actually, that’s not true, and he specifically picked the “girl’s toy” for the express purpose of making Yukhei regret his life decisions. “Anyway, congrats.” He plops the complementary cardboard crown on top of Yukhei’s head with a flourish. “You’re the birthday boy!”

It lands crooked, the giant _Happy Birthday!_ on the side of his head instead of front and center, but Yukhei is looking at Donghyuck like he’s just divulged the meaning of life. “How’d you know it’s my birthday?” Donghyuck freezes halfway in his seat, and it must show on his face that he’s currently craving death because Yukhei just reaches across the table to pat the back of Donghyuck’s hand reassuringly. “Dude, chill. It’s not really my birthday.” He gives Donghyuck a grin that is decidedly too soft given the circumstances, and for the first time it occurs to Donghyuck that Yukhei is treating this complete farce like a real date. “But if it was,” Yukhei continues before Donghyuck can feel too guilty about his belated revelation, “there is no one I’d rather spend it with than you and Princess Luna.”

Donghyuck scoffs, snapping out of it. He grabs a fry and pops it in his mouth, chewing loudly like Renjun hates. “Excuse you, don’t leave Rainbow Dash out.”

Yukhei holds his hands up in surrender. “I would never.” He moves the little figures―Luna, Dash, and some other pony that neither of them know the name of―to the edge of the table in a neat little line. “There. _Now_ it’s a party.” Donghyuck doesn’t know what kind of social life Yukhei has that makes him think a fake birthday at McDonald’s with plastic horses constitutes a party, but he can’t find it in himself to judge. After all, he is currently passing his time trying to con an innocent sap out of a Friday night just to appease his annoying friends, so he clearly doesn’t have high standards, either.

The rest of the meal goes by smoothly, aside from some kid blowing chunks inside the slide, which leads to a rushed evacuation of the PlayPlace and effectively ruins the appetites of everyone involved. Donghyuck counts it as a blessing. He isn’t sure how much longer he could have sat in a sticky booth while children screamed in the background―ideal for ruining a first date, but also miserably headache-inducing. Yukhei, for his part, still looks like he’s having a blast with his lopsided crown and small army of pony toys, and he’s grinning from ear to ear even as they make their way to his car.

When they’re both settled and strapped in, Yukhei asks what they’re doing next, and Donghyuck has to admit he didn’t plan for this. He’d been so sure that if his initial appearance didn’t deter Yukhei, then the subpar dinner definitely would, so he never bothered to prepare a plan B. And in theory, this is the perfect out; he could ask Yukhei to take him home, and he probably wouldn’t even need an excuse because Yukhei seems like the type to respect what people say without demanding an explanation. He could always blame it on feeling sick from overhearing a five year old regurgitate an entire cheeseburger if he needed to, anyway.

He doesn’t. “I dunno. Just start driving, I guess.” He shrugs, and Yukhei just nods, shifting into gear and backing out of the parking spot. He does that thing where he braces his arm on the passenger seat as he turns to check behind him, and Donghyuck pointedly ignores how perfect his jawline is and the way his bicep flexes with the motion.

Yukhei makes small talk while they drive, and it’s nice, but _nice_ is not exactly what Donghyuck has in mind for this date. He doesn’t know what he’s looking for, but he figures he’ll know it when he sees it. So when they pass the sketchiest looking tattoo parlour Donghyuck has ever seen in the twenty years he’s walked this earth, he darts an arm out across Yukhei’s chest and yells, “Stop!”

Yukhei looks like he’s half a second away from a heart attack, and he slams on the brakes, turning sharply when Donghyuck points. He doesn’t even question it, just finds a parking spot and pulls in, hands sliding off the wheel once they’re stationary. “You wanna get a tattoo?” he asks neutrally, like he’s maybe a little surprised, but ultimately fine with whatever. If his track record for the night is anything to go by, he probably is.

Donghyuck nods a bit too eagerly to be convincing. He’s never felt very strongly one way or another about tattoos; hasn’t really thought much about getting one himself, but, well. What could it hurt, really?

The first thing Donghyuck notices when they walk inside is a gumball machine full of unidentified capsules. When he asks about it, the receptionist behind the desk―a pretty girl with black and white streaks in her hair and at least a million piercings―explains that for $50, they can choose a random tattoo flash from the machine. It’s a pretty reasonable price for a tattoo, as far as Donghyuck can tell with his very limited knowledge of these kinds of things. (He went with Renjun to get a butterfly piercing a few months ago, but he spent most of his time at the parlour taking embarrassing videos of his best friend to post on Snapchat and paid very little attention to the actual logistics.) The only catch here is that they have to get whatever they end up with, but Donghyuck doesn’t know what he wants, anyway, so that hardly matters.

Donghyuck says he’ll take one, and Yukhei shrugs and seconds that motion. Once they have their tokens in hand, they step up to the machine, and Donghyuck volunteers to go first because this was his idea, after all. He slides the token into the slot, turns the handle, and a few moments later he’s popping open the capsule to reveal a heart shot through with an arrow and the words _YOUR MOM_ on a banner wrapped around it. It’s so stupid, and amazing, and Donghyuck already knows it’s going to make one hell of a story when he’s older and wiser and embarrassing his future children by showing it off every chance he gets.

Yukhei laughs when Donghyuck shows him the tiny paper, and then he’s sliding his token into the machine, eagerly twisting the handle and acquiring his own miniature piece of art. He looks at it, throwing his head back and laughing even harder when he sees what he’s stuck with. “What’d you get?” Donghyuck asks, guiding Yukhei by the wrist so he tilts the paper down to Donghyuck’s line of sight. It’s a butterfly, all bold lines and simple blue and black colouring. “Oh my god, I love it,” is all Donghyuck can think to say, because it’s true. It’s so ridiculous, it’s perfect.

The next few minutes are spent negotiating who will get inked first, during which Yukhei divulges the earth-shattering information that he already has two tattoos of his own, so he figures he should probably go first so Donghyuck can see the process before he actually pops his body mod cherry. (He phrases it much nicer than that, obviously, but Donghyuck is still reeling from the revelation that Yukhei has tattoos― _plural―_ to pay much attention to the specific wording of it all.) And then Yukhei asks where he should get the butterfly, and this is when Donghyuck, if he had any sense, would have said something like “your wrist,” or if he was feeling particularly brave, maybe even, “your bicep.”

Donghyuck does not have any sense, as this entire night is rapidly revealing. “Oh my god, it’s _so_ 2002\. Please go full Mariah and get a―” He cuts himself off, but Yukhei realizes what he’s about to say right as Donghyuck himself does.

Yukhei just laughs harder. “Holy shit, it’s only our first date and you’re telling me to get a tramp stamp?” He covers his mouth with a hand, giggling into his palm as his eyes widen involuntarily. “If you’re into that, you could’ve just told me.” He wiggles his eyebrows, and Donghyuck thinks, not for the first time, that maybe he’s just punishing himself here.

“I’m not _into_ it,” he argues weakly, but it doesn’t matter. Yukhei’s already too busy peeling his shirt off of his body to listen to his half-hearted protests, and then Donghyuck gets a good look at Yukhei’s pecs and his brain statics out, anyway.

Yukhei gets into position as the tattoo artist directs him, and he’s laying on his stomach but Donghyuck can clearly see the massive dragon on his shoulder blade, and a glimpse of what he thinks is a lion inked across Yukhei’s ribs. It’s all quite a lot to take in, and Donghyuck hardly notices when the actual tattooing begins. Or what that entails. Or what Yukhei is saying to him when he’s finished.

“Hyuck?” Yukhei says as he stands up to look at his new addition in the mirror. Donghyuck pointedly ignores the nickname for the sake of his own sanity. “What do you think?” He looks at Donghyuck through the reflection, eyes big and wide like a puppy’s.

Donghyuck averts his gaze to stare at Yukhei’s lower back, where a bright blue butterfly now makes a home between the dimples right above the waistline of his jeans. Donghyuck’s mouth suddenly goes very dry, but he does manage to choke out a faint, “It’s better than Mariah’s, that’s for damn sure,” which seems to satisfy Yukhei, if his broad smile is anything to go by.

“Nice,” he says as he tugs his shirt back on after his open wound is cleaned and wrapped. “You’re up, beautiful.” He flashes Donghyuck another blinding smile, and this is the moment it really sinks in that Donghyuck is about to permanently scar himself in the name of undermining a date. It’s funny, because it doesn’t really _feel_ like a bad date, even though it should. And it should definitely feel like a bad life decision to roll up his sleeve and tell the artist that he wants his first tattoo right on the side of his bicep, but it doesn’t. Donghyuck doesn’t unpack any of that, partially because he refuses to, but mostly because now the stencil is on and Yukhei is talking him through what’s about to happen.

“And if you need a break, that’s okay,” he’s saying, and Donghyuck doesn’t really know the context because he’s only half listening, but he appreciates the effort. “Or if you need a hand to hold, I’ll be right here the whole time.” It should sound condescending, but the way Yukhei says it is so genuine that Donghyuck feels nothing but comforted. Even if he doubts he’ll need the moral support.

As it turns out, tattoos hurt a whole fucking lot. Donghyuck needs the moral support.

As soon as the needle touches his skin, he makes a choked noise in the back of his throat that has Yukhei reaching for his hand, reminding him not to move in a soothing voice as he rubs circles into Donghyuck’s knuckles with his thumb. After the initial shock, it’s not so bad, and while Donghyuck wishes he would’ve paid more attention to Yukhei’s crash course in tattoo procedures, he’s not mad at this new development. He quickly adjusts to the pain, relaxing back into the chair, but he doesn’t let go of Yukhei’s hand the entire time. Yukhei doesn’t try to pull away, either.

When he’s done, he walks over to the mirror, flexing dramatically to show off his first tattoo ever. Yukhei, who’s still holding his hand, gets dragged along with him, and they take a mirror selfie with their new ink on display for all of Donghyuck’s Snapchat friends to see. He captions it _lost my tattoo virginity!!!_ with approximately 5,000 fire, skull, needle, and chain emojis. Then he turns his phone off and pockets it to avoid seeing the reactions of any of his friends. Or his little sister, for that matter.

When he looks back up, Yukhei is already beaming at him. “You did great. It gets easier every time, I promise.”

Donghyuck shakes his head, huffing out a laugh. “I don’t know if I ever wanna do that again, but thanks for the vote of confidence.”

The tattoo artist wraps Donghyuck’s arm, they each pay for their newly acquired body art, and then they once again find themselves sitting in Yukhei’s car, unsure what comes next. This time, when Yukhei asks, Donghyuck just whines, “Please take me home. My arm is really fucking sore,” before his brain can come up with any other convoluted ways to string Yukhei along. Which is probably for the best, really.

Yukhei just nods. “Sure, yeah. Just tell me the way.” He pulls out of the parking lot, and Donghyuck makes it a point to stay on his side of the center console, hands folded neatly in his lap and far out of Yukhei’s metaphorical reach. He could definitely grab Donghyuck’s hand if he wanted to, but Donghyuck gets the feeling he’s too respectful to be that demanding. He’s right, but he kind of wishes he wasn’t.

When they pull up to Donghyuck’s building, Yukhei parks right in front and kills the gas, turning toward Donghyuck like he’s waiting for something – not with any expectations, just like he’s curious what Donghyuck wants next. Like he’ll do whatever Donghyuck asks, if he just voices it. Just like it’s been all night. Donghyuck knows it’s probably a bad idea, but he says it anyway. “Wanna come inside?”

Yukhei looks a bit surprised, mouth parting slightly to form a little O, but then he nods and they’re both climbing out of the car to make the trek up to the third floor. Donghyuck leads the way, digging his keys out of his pocket and unlocking the door. He swings it open with a flourish, flicking the lights on and sweeping an arm out in front of himself in a grand gesture of showing off his tiny living space. Yukhei follows him in, hovering near the door as Donghyuck plops himself onto the couch. He pats the cushion next to him, urging Yukhei to make himself at home. Yukhei sits, but he leaves a respectable distance between them. Donghyuck isn’t sure how he feels about that.

“What are we watching?” Yukhei asks conversationally, because Donghyuck is already turning on the TV and booting up his Xbox.

Donghyuck gets up to rummage through his DVDs until he finds the one he’s looking for. He holds it up, face breaking out into a grin. “Monsters, Inc.” He says it with conviction, leaving no room for protest, though he doubts Yukhei would argue anyway. “It’s only the cinematic masterpiece of the century, Hei.” The nickname slips out unprovoked, but Donghyuck makes it a point not to falter. Maybe it will freak Yukhei out and he’ll leave, and wouldn’t that be exactly what Donghyuck wants?

Yukhei just laughs at his bold declaration. “You also said Eminem invented rap when he dropped Just Lose It,” he points out, which, while not an accurate reflection of Donghyuck’s feelings, is technically true. He did say that, at McDonald’s, when he was trying to make Yukhei hate him what feels like lifetimes ago. Presently, he has no fucking clue what he’s trying to do. Besides watch his favourite movie with a cute boy, that is.

He settles on a noncommittal shrug. “I may be...misinformed on the history of the rap industry, but this is indisputable. Monsters, Inc. is a work of _art.”_

Yukhei doesn’t argue either of those points. “Well, what are we doing talking about it? Play it, then.” He nods toward the Xbox for emphasis, and Donghyuck doesn’t need to be told twice. He slides the disc into the tray, then grabs a controller and plonks himself back onto the couch, right where Yukhei’s arm is draped across the back cushion. Yukhei’s arm moves almost imperceptibly to press against Donghyuck’s shoulder, and they both settle in as Donghyuck presses play.

“So, just checking,” Yukhei says as the opening credits start to roll, “is this a Netflix and chill type of thing, or do you actually wanna watch this?” Donghyuck turns to look at him, and the blue light from the TV screen makes him look more beautiful than anyone should ever have a right to. “‘Cause like, I love this movie, but if we watch it I _will_ cry at the end, and that would kind of ruin our first date, yeah?”

Donghyuck just stares at him, perky jazz music and cartoon monster noises serving as the soundtrack to his demise. It should’ve been obvious, but hearing Yukhei say the words out loud―say that he doesn’t think the date is ruined, that he could possibly do anything to make it worse―is enough to send Donghyuck spiraling. Surely no one is this perfect, this patient, this perpetually positive. It’s absolutely infectious, how utterly pure Yukhei’s motives are. He just wants Donghyuck to enjoy their time together, even if Donghyuck himself is doing everything he can to ruin their chances. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe Donghyuck actually likes Yukhei enough to risk keeping him around.

The realization hits him like a truck, a train, a ton of bricks―every cliche in the book. He just sits there gaping for a solid thirty seconds, brain kicking into overdrive as it tries to process this new information. He _likes_ Yukhei. And Yukhei must like him, too, if he’s still around after the night Donghyuck has put him through. Yukhei is still waiting for an answer to his question, but Donghyuck doesn’t say anything. He just tosses the remote onto the coffee table, swings a leg over Yukhei’s thighs, and leans down to crash their lips together.

Yukhei inhales sharply at the sudden development, but a moment later his hands are coming to rest on Donghyuck’s hips, thumbs slipping under the hem of his shirt to rub soft circles against the bones there. It’s a stark contrast to the eager way he’s licking into Donghyuck’s mouth, running his tongue along Donghyuck’s bottom lip when their teeth aren’t clacking together. Donghyuck snakes his arms around Yukhei’s neck, drawing closer so their chests are flush, pushing him back into the couch, and Yukhei’s head hits the wall with a dull _thump_ as Donghyuck runs a hand up the column of his throat to cup his jaw.

Donghyuck pulls Yukhei’s plush bottom lip between his teeth, and the sound Yukhei makes will star in Donghyuck’s wet dreams for the foreseeable future, he can already tell. Yukhei’s hands wander down to his thighs, wrapping around them easily to squeeze the soft flesh there. Donghyuck groans, and Yukhei manhandles him so Donghyuck is sitting farther up his lap, and now every inch of them is touching. Donghyuck feels more than hears Yukhei hiss as his back brushes against the couch with the movement, fresh tattoo rubbed raw, and Donghyuck nips at Yukhei’s jaw to distract him from the pain. He presses open-mouthed kisses up and down Yukhei’s jugular, just the barest hint of teeth scraping across the pulse point.

Then he hears a familiar Japanese greeting, and Donghyuck shoots upright, bracing himself on Yukhei’s chest to catch his breath. “Wait, it’s the Harryhausen’s scene!” He turns as well as he can without leaving his spot on Yukhei’s lap, craning his neck to see the TV over his own shoulder.

“Oh shit, that’s the best one,” Yukhei says, voice just raspy enough to be distracting. He leans to the side, steadying himself with hands on Donghyuck’s knees as he peers around Donghyuck’s body. Donghyuck shifts so he can see the screen without breaking his neck, and Yukhei hooks his chin over Donghyuck’s shoulder, sighing contentedly.

They watch the rest of the movie, and Yukhei does cry at the end. Donghyuck swipes the tear tracks off of Yukhei’s cheekbones with the pads of his thumbs and thinks he might be in love.

Okay, maybe it’s not love, but he does care enough to come clean. “I tried to sabotage our date,” he blurts before he can change his mind, still straddling Yukhei even though there’s no longer any reason for him to be.

Except for the fact Yukhei’s arms have at some point snaked their way around his waist, trapping him there. “I know,” are not the words Donghyuck’s expecting to hear, and he certainly isn’t expecting Yukhei to be smiling when he says them.

Donghyuck blinks at him. “You knew?” 

Yukhei’s smile is every bit as bright as all the others he’s given Donghyuck so far. “Yeah,” he says simply, because Yukhei has a way of making everything seem simple. “Renjun and Yangyang told me you’d probably try to scare me off. Something about divorce? I dunno.” He doesn’t sound all that bothered by the details, but Donghyuck can feel his face heating up, and he’s suddenly very thankful for the dim lighting.

“I’m gonna kill them,” he says with very little bite. Yukhei just giggles, hand unconsciously moving up to cover his mouth. Donghyuck takes it in his own and laces their fingers together, letting their clasped hands drop to his lap. “But I’m sorry, really. You didn’t deserve that.”

Yukhei tilts his head. “Normally I’d say you’re right, and you should’ve just told them you didn’t want to, but then I wouldn’t have met you. So, I’m okay with it.” He brings their hands up to press his lips against Donghyuck’s knuckles, feather-light brush of skin against skin. “You’re forgiven.” He pulls back, smirking, and Donghyuck already knows what’s coming next before the words leave his mouth. “Plus, it was really entertaining to watch you try to make a fool of yourself.”

 _“Try?”_ Donghyuck parrots. “I did a great job making a fool of myself, thank you very much.”

Yukhei nods, nuzzling the tip of his nose against Donghyuck’s. “You do know how to leave a lasting impression.”

“Well, you know what they say.” Donghyuck ghosts his lips against Yukhei’s chin, face breaking out into a grin as he tilts up to press their smiles together. “First impressions matter.”

**Author's Note:**

> for those of you who are visual learners, [here](https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/504755070714443272/) is xuxi's tattoo (minus the extra linework) and hyuck ends up with something similar to [this](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/CralhfhRGPi9m9ge3uDPh_RPgcTWp1fY5jA7zdZsrTLhYN2efUQDcwHKMZtTpZIK1xAZzz6G8D0IT3F5QqEXpxwIb7hbKVGi-wUHt_zAoh7G-MFHI-Uo1j4bXtmMJ-YBqA) (but it says "your mom" instead lmao)
> 
> anyway i missed writing hyuckhei a lot actually this was fun <3
> 
> i am once again shamelessly plugging my [twitter](https://twitter.com/mullethyuck) let's be friends!!


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